Malawi Police nab 3 Kamuzu Central Hospital staff for stealing drugs
Police in Lilongwe have arrested three members of staff at Kamuzu Central Hospital on suspicion of having stolen drugs worth more than MK600, 000 from the hospital’s pharmacy.
The three are 36-year-old Sekani Ziba, who works as a pharmacist at the hospital, and two guards Davis Chiwaya, 35 and Gift Galimoto, 28.
Lilongwe Police publicist Kingsley Dandaula said in an interview that Chiwaya was seen by a fellow guard carrying things which could not be identified and hid them in the guard room.
“The other guard became suspicious and reported the matter to the hospital management which immediately instituted a search in the guard room.” Dandaula said.
He said 19 tins of Amoxylin drugs worth MK190, 000 were found in the hidden place after the search.
“This prompted the management to do a thorough stocking taking to establish whether 320 tins of drugs the hospital’s pharmacist had received on March 23 were accounted for.
“It was discovered that only 44 tins were accounted for and 64 tins valued at K640, 000 were missing. Management reported the matter to police and we arrested the pharmacist, the guard who hid the drugs and another guard implicated in the issue,” he said.
According to Dandaula, further investigations on the matter are still underway as the three suspects wait to appear before court to answer a charge of theft by public servant.
Ziba comes from Mzinge Village, T/A Mbelwa in Mzimba district, Chiwaya is from Phweremwe village T/A Nazombe in Phalombe while Galimoto hails from Chimodzi Village, T/A Kalumba in Lilongwe.
